Dulcet tones and shimmering shades
by sharkinterviewee
Summary: Barry couldn't stop his fingers from shaking as they whispered over her skin, following the scattered stardust that still found a home under her eyes. She really was breathtaking. And it had nothing to do with being a fallen star. It's because she was Iris. [Westallen AU- Urban Fantasy]


Iris had a plan- at least, she thought she did.

The air was heavy around them, the silence creeping up her spine.

With only a low burning lamp in the adjacent room left humming, plus the fact that it was well past the middle of the night, the darkness of her apartment made it feel that much more dramatic. She didn't just want to tell him though, she wanted to show him. Hence the very late hour, and this whole situation, really.

The lamp didn't really do much, but paired with the city lights filtering though the window at her back it meant that Iris could _just _make out the expression of the man standing in her living room.

She swore she could feel the significance of the moment weighing on her chest, and from the look on Barry's face, he could feel it too. If ever there was a tipping point for them, where something was about to break- surely this was it.

She'd apparently underestimated just what having Barry Allen in a low lit setting like this would do to her heart rate.

Especially when he was looking at her like _that._

All wide eyed and staring at her with a quiet wonder, bathed in the soft glow of the streetlight pouring through her blinds, his face a layered concept of horizontal shadows and lines. You'd think he wouldn't look quite so devastatingly _gorgeous _in a poorly lit room with shadows cutting across his face, but you'd be wrong.

Barry closed the distance between them as if in a trance, his hand already lifting to her face before he paused, seeming to think better of it.

(Really, he always wanted to reach out to her. It wasn't any different here).

He didn't retreat now that he was so close to her, but his fingers fell a bit, curling in uncertainty. Didn't drop all the way down to his side- rather just hovered there in the air while he second guessed himself.

Barry swallowed. "Can I?" He asked, voice catching in his throat.

Iris nodded, wanting to say more, but she couldn't find the words. This felt like enough, though.

It made her chest feel all static-y and soft, the way he was looking at her. She never wanted him to stop looking at her like that.

Still, Barry hesitated. How could he not? He was so worried about messing this up. Now seemed closer than ever before to something that he wanted so very badly, and it was _terrifying_.

The fluttering palpitations in his chest were not doing him any favors- were his palms sweating? Fuck.

Iris was stuck between brows furrowing at his continued absence, and smiling fondly at his deer in headlights look. She blinked, a soft, barely there smile spreading over her lips as she leaned into him, expectant.

Then Barry's fingers brushed over her cheekbone, soft and drifting like a windswept day dream. He couldn't stop them from shaking as they whispered over her skin, following the scattered stardust that still found a home under her eyes.

Some days the specks seemed brighter than others, but without a doubt they were breathtaking at night.

The first time he met her, Barry had thought it was makeup or something. Glitter, like she was going out for a night on the town, had spread a shimmering powder on her cheeks, under her eyes, all to accentuate what was undoubtedly already the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

When he saw her the next day, he thought the way her skin almost seemed to sparkle was in his head.

In reality, the shimmer dusting her skin faded enough during the day that she could cover it up with makeup, could walk among humans unnoticed for her true nature.

It was a little harder to hide at night, when the moon came out to play, because starshine was meant to be seen, to light up the world.

But like he said. It looked like a- style. Not like the elements of what she used to be embedded in her skin, the remnants of her stardust soul dancing across her cheeks, infused with her very essence.

He knew better now, as he traced the shimmering trail with absolute reverence. They were the brightest he'd ever seen them. He's never been this close before.

The shining flecks were concentrated in the hollow under her eyes, spreading outward and defusing across her cheekbones. He idly thought that he could spend hours making up new constellations just looking at her face- connecting the lines between the the sparks scattered across her skin, the few gathered near her temple, down to the stray one dimly shining halfway down her jaw. The dusting of starlight under her eyes was too fine and clustered together too tightly for him to ever have a hope of counting them- it really was like a shimmer of fine glitter dust she was wearing, aside from the fact that this wasn't glitter catching on the light, they were clearly _producing _light. The source.

She really was breathtaking. And it had nothing to do with being a fallen star.

It had everything to do with the way her eyes lit up when she was talking about the things that excited her, the way she smiled like she couldn't help herself, like the happiness was just bursting out of her. The fierce determination that everyone could see and knew not to mess with when she had set her mind to something. The pained groan and chuckle she let out whenever he hit her with another truly lame joke (maybe he'd stop telling them if she'd stop laughing at them). It had everything to do with how warm her hands were, the soft expression he'd catch on her face when she looked his way.

Because she was Iris.

He left the trail of stardust behind, his fingers gravitating towards her lips. He swiped his thumb over them, and Iris peered up at him through half lidded eyes.

The intensity of his gaze made her stomach drop.

He kept tracing her lips, his thumbpad smoothing over them again and again, leaving her nerves tingling in his wake. Still looking at her with eyes so deep and intense she swore they radiated their own heat.

Her lungs wouldn't cooperate, because seriously, how were they supposed to function when he was this close and _still _wasn't kissing her yet?

Barry thumbed open her bottom lip, dipping into her mouth, eyes darkening at how easily she parted for him.

Iris flicked her tongue over the tip of his thumb, giving it a light suck as she not so subtly shoved her face forward. Toward his.

A soft, disappointed noise escaped her when he dragged his thumb away. She was soon assuaged, however, when it was replaced by his lips.

Fucking finally.

Iris waited approximately 0.2 seconds before getting her hands _all over_ him. Really, she should be applauded for her self control.

Her kiss was hot and hungry as she raised on her toes, her hands moving up his arms to brace herself, already wanting- needing more of him. Barry didn't seem to mind, though. His lips slotted against hers, this perfect push and pull that had her stomach clenching, heat flooding her system and desire pooling in the pit of her belly.

With a slight bit of frustration Iris noted that their height difference didn't give her much leverage, even standing on her toes. She had a better idea, though.

Her hands made their way up his chest, and she was barely able to suppress the wicked smirk that threatened to give her away as she curled her fingers in the collar of his shirt. With absolutely no warning she roughly tugged Barry down to her height, yanking him so hard and quick it actually startled a squeak out of him.

What's more- it pulled him off balance, had him stumbling forward and into her, which was more or less what she intended.

Now the heat of his body was pressed against hers, and she slipped her tongue into his mouth to satisfy all the nights she'd spent dreaming about his taste.

Even as she deepened the kiss, he still seemed hesitant, his hands awkwardly settling on her sides like he just didn't know what to do with them. Or what was okay for him to do with them, more likely.

She pulled back, her breath ghosting over his lips. "Barry." She pressed two quick, noisy kisses to the corner of his mouth. "Come on," she whispered. "I know you can do better than that."

His breath hitched, eyes wide and flickering over her face.

Barry frowned, seemingly deliberating something before he ducked his head, his mouth hot on her throat as he backed her up against the nearest hard surface. In no time at all he had her pressed against the wall, crowding her in in the best way possible, lips scouring her skin.

She was already panting as her hands scrambled over his shoulders, the back of his neck, twisting in his hair- just wanting to _touch him._

Fuck. Hell yeah he could do better than that. Damn.

She rocked her hips into his, more than a little pleased by the resulting groan he tried to stifle against her throat.

Then Barry pressed her further into the wall, cupping her face in the meaty part of his palm, tilting her head away from him as he sucked on the hinge of her jaw, making her gasp.

Because apparently with Barry Allen it was go hard or go home, and she- for one- was loving it.

But she was also missing the feel of his lips pressed against hers, and she really needed to do something about that. Her fingers tangled in his hair again, pulling his mouth away. As much as she loved what he was doing with it, Iris really needed to kiss him again.

Iris let out an impatient whine when he was a little slow returning, pressing little sloppy kisses along her jawline, the corner of her lips, just light, teasing things.

She tried to turn her head to press full on against him, but he dodged at the last second, his playful nature getting the best of her. Normally, she loved it when he had that sweet, goofy smile. And okay, she kinda loved it on him right now. But also not. She wanted to kiss it off of him.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "If you don't wanna kiss me, you can just say so."

They both knew it was an empty threat. Probably why he just smiled wider.

"Oh no!" He gasped, mock appalled. He dropped it with a giggle though. "I do," he stole in for a quick kiss. "I do." Another. "I do." Another.

She couldn't hold out for that much longer, and soon enough they were both giggling. He was such a dork, and it made her smile like nothing else.

They may have been a little lightheaded from the kissing, the exhilaration from their contact, of finally touching each other like they've both wanted to for far too long.

With a sigh and a smile Iris cupped his cheek, pressing her forehead against his. She didn't have to look to know he was smiling just as wide as her.

His arms had snaked around the small of her back to hold her to him, and she very much liked the feeling of being wrapped in Barry Allen's arms. She decided right then it was where she'd always wanna be.

The rush of being so close to him was still thrumming through her veins, but the heat between them had settled into something that was pure warmth. It was nice. Everything about it was perfect, really.

Iris hummed, darting forward to press a quick kiss to his cheek. She was delighted to hear and feel the rumbling laugh that brought out of his chest. It reverberated through hers- Barry's laugh had to be one of her favorite sounds.

Her fingers fell to play with the hairs on the nape of his neck, drawing little circles that sent a shiver down his spine.

He pulled back enough to look at her, his expression unbearably soft as he held her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. He couldn't help how his eyes were drawn to her lips, or the flush that crept up the back of his neck at the very recent memory of how they felt against his.

When he met her eyes again, he looked like coming home.

Then Barry stiffened, and she felt his whole body go tense before he took a step back, putting some distance between them.

Iris frowned. She had to fight the urge to immediately pull him back into her the second he moved away.

He wasn't even that far- only a few inches separating them, when their bodies had been pressed together before, but it was entirely too far for her tastes.

Barry swallowed thickly, avoiding her eyes. "There's probably a few things I should tell you."

Starting with how she wasn't the only nonhuman here.

* * *

**AN: I'm still relatively new to this fandom (still not caught up on the show yet because college+job is killer), but I've been so excited about this fic, and pretty much working on it nonstop ever since I had the idea.**  
**This fic will have two chapters, and the next one will be out... eventually. Who knows. I sure as hell don't.**  
**Anyways, hope you enjoyed!**


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